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Sunday, January 8, 2017

Christmas 2016 was held at Jody's this year and we were lucky we had good weather for our travel eastbound. If there is going to be any snow in the week, it often tends to fall on our Wednesday night meetings. Clear skies all the way with stars as bright as the lights on Jody's tree! One of these days, I should post ALL our Christmas photos from years' gone past so you can see how we've all changed these past 20 some odd years. Sometimes we surprise ourselves at how well we colour coordinate for our pictures without even consulting with each other in advance. I just happened to notice now that Tracey and I are in blue tones, while Jody and Anita are in black & grey. In fact, we had quite a chuckle when we were looking at a photo from 'a few years back' and Jody realized she was wearing the same shirt then that she was that night. We realized a couple of things after Jody commented that she better go shopping after Christmas for some sales on new shirts! Some items of clothing are just too comfy to get rid of and some things are classics that never go out of style; much like our friendship!

It's always exciting when we do our gift exchange because one of us almost always makes something for the others and this year Tracey blew us all away with the surprise of her unique gift. She created a project bag and the material she used was a print of two photographs she had taken at our yearly retreat at Brentwood on the Beach. The second I opened the box and saw the sunset on the material, I knew what she had done. So beautifully crafted! Tracey has opened up her own Etsy shop with all her unique bags, called Bags She Built; click on the link to read Tracey's story and how she came up with the one-of-a-kind name.

One of the many beautiful sunsets at Brentwood on the Beachcaptured for us to enjoy every single time we open up our project bag.

These stunning red poppies are almost always in bloom the week we are at Brentwood. Often closed up upon arrival, they are sure to be in full bloom before we leave 4 days later. They enjoy our company so much that they wait for us. :-)

Tracy lined each of our bags with a design that suited each of our personalities. She laid them out on the table and asked her husband if he could tell which one was for each of us and he was spot on with the answers. He knows us well! Each bag is finished off with a charm on the zipper pull along with a button from Tracey's Nana's button box.

Jody always finds the most unique and decorative friendship blocks.

Anita and Jody filled their gift bags with oodles of goodies. Lucky for us this year, Anita found the Christmas spatulas that she bought for us last year. LOL. She included beautiful decorative tea towels, napkins and a scented pot holder and a gift card. Jody found a notepad with each of our initials, but she couldn't find hers at the time of the photo so I had to decide if I should take the photo with BAT or TAB. The bat won. Along with our notepad, we got a beautiful scented candle, friendship block and friendship charm.

For the past few years, I have been making desk calendars for everyone with a collection of our projects over the years. With four of us creating so many different things, I should be good to go for a few more years with this item.

Along with the desk calendar, I gave everyone a Satin Hands Pampering set in a key lime scent. You have to have silky hands for crafting don't you? Each card was given to Anita, Jody and Tracey to suit their personalities. I wonder if there is anyone out there who may be able to figure which card was given to whom. (perhaps Jayne with a Y can take a guess...? -- she seems to know us pretty well.)

This past week we started our cross stitching year at Tracey's and we were greeted with the sight of her beautiful mantel. I swear there are enough pictures of her mantels over the years to create a book of its own! Winter is upon us, and Tracey captured it beautifully.

This mantel has just a little piece of everyone on it. One year for Christmas, I gave everyone the snowflake made of buttons that is hanging on the front of the mantel.

Tracey's joyful little snowman cross stitch sits beside a unique frame that Tracey found and it just so happened to perfectly fit one of the handmade cards that Anita made. And Anita had given us all the pretty little snowflake lantern; my granddaughter Scarlet loves to play with mine all the time and carries it around with her all day.

This picture is a tad blurry, but we'll just pretend it's a little foggy outside. I love this little cross stitch. The dog looks just like Tracey and Paul's dog Heidi. She was a such a beautiful sheltie and always a joy to be around.

As noted before, here is Jody's pretty little friendship block.And the cute little sign at the back was made my Tracey's son Mitchell when he was quite young and she commented how fitting it is right now as it's so much the style now. It has made it's comeback.

Happy New Year to all our followers! We would all like to offer our warm wishes to you and your families for the best of everything in 2017. Peace, joy and love to all.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

This past year seemed to just fly right by; but isn't that what everyone says particularly when it comes to watching children grow up? As promised, here is the remainder of Ewan's "Here I Grow" photo shoots.

Feeling a little under the weather today, but still managed a smile!

11 months old already! He's been walking for over a month now.

It's almost like he KNOWS it's his birthday!

Ewan's reaction when he arrived at his dad's curling bonspiel. He is one of the happiest babies ever, and it appears he's going to be quite sociable as well. This was taken just before St. Patrick's day and he just reminded me of a little Leprechaun!

This picture is one of my all-time faves!Ewan was almost 7 months old and he went with mom and dad and Aunt Holly to P.E.I.Shawn had to go to a convention so they all decided to make a trip of it. This photo was taken just before they went to a 'meet & greet' cocktail hour. It's almost like he knew he was going to be a chick-magnet!

I saved the best for last. Without a doubt, this was the best purchase of my life. I found a perfect outfit and gave it to Niki and Shawn for Ewan to be baptised in.

Now... how perfect is this? I got a few shots of the top picture with the kilt positioned just so you could see what Scotsmen really DO wear under their kilts, but I'm afraid I would be put in jail if I had published it. :-)

As promised in my last post, I mentioned that Shawn was working on a special photo shoot surprise. He compiled over 80 photos of 'blooper' shots from Ewan's "Here I Grow" Facebook post. Here are just a few pics of what it's like to try and capture those special moments. Enjoy!

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Meet Ewan Michael McKillop. I'm so very late posting this precious announcement. 2015 was not a very kind year to me, but it did provide me with a most precious gift; my second grandchild. And we are so grateful for his safe and healthy arrival after a very long wait. Ewan was born on March 30th - just one day before his father's birthday and Shawn is adamant that there WILL be two separate birthday parties each year. Can't wait for that!

Shawn also decided he wanted to do a growth chart as I had done with Scarlet and I'd like to share them with you. So let's ring in 2016 with Ewan wishing everyone a wonderfully Happy New Year and health, wealth and abundance for all.

Happy New Year,

Bonnie

p.s. At Ewan's one year mark, Shawn has a little surprise planned for a photo shoot which I will also share with you.

Monday, August 3, 2015

There are many reasons why we have not been able to post to our blog this past year and for that, we apologize. We hope we have not lost you ....

A lot of things have happened since we last met; the loss of dear pets, the loss of dear loved ones in both family and dear friends, the birth of new life, and of course many new projects. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Bonnie and Tracey

For those of you faithful followers who remember dear Sushi and the growth chart of her and my grand daughter, it makes me sad to say that Sushi is no longer with us. Stricken with illness and suffering greatly, it was necessary to put her to rest.

Sushi was a most unique cat! Extremely comical and very entertaining. Each time my daughter would call home she would ask what I was doing and I would always reply 'Watching the cat' - finally she said, "Why don't you just cancel your cable and save some money then?"

Sushi loved to help in the kitchen. Anytime I opened the cupboards she was there to inspect that everything was in its rightful place. Whenever I cleaned the fridge and took out the vegetable drawers to clean them and turned around to put them back, she was there to make sure the inside of the fridge was cleaned first.

She loved to play Hide & Seek!

She loved to help me sew.

She loved to relax and chill. Sometimes we would catch her in our bed and she would greet you with a smarty pants look. She loved to read and she particularly loved the sunshine.

A few of her favourite spots ... she liked to sit by the 'faux fire', and I often wondered if she sat there wondering why there was no added warmth to the room. When I remodeled my bathroom and set it up for particular baskets for everyone's needs, Sushi was sure to claim hers immediately. She loved to sit on the staircase - always on watch to see who would come to the door; if she was in the other room, she came running - just like a dog to see who it was. As long as she sat high on the staircase, she felt safe to run quickly if a visitor stopped by with their dog.

At Christmas she took it upon herself to claim her gifts. If there was a bag lying around, she was sure to find herself tangled up in it.

These next few pictures are the last ones I took of Sushi. During my kitchen remodeling (another blog post to follow ...) Sushi lost her favourite place of all to hang out. She loved lying on the table every day and looking out the window and scratching her face on the blinds. She loved to lay on towels for some reason so I always kept one on the table for her at all times. The remodeling took 6 months and she was somewhat lost. When we were near to finishing the room, I walked in one day and noticed her sitting pissed off patiently on a step stool that was near the window and it tugged at my heart how much she had missed the window. It was only 3 days later she left us, but I was so glad she got to spend them in her favourite spot.

Sushi touched all our hearts and I swear sometimes she makes me think she was my pet monkey reincarnated. When she would look up at me, I swear it was the monkey looking back at me and communicating to me. As you all have experienced the loss of a dear pet, you understand how much they touch your very heart and sole and how dearly they are missed.

But alas .... life goes on and as I mentioned earlier, new life was born this past year and I will be posting new growth charts for your amusement.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Jane - one of our dear 'Stitching Sisters' friends loves to collect snowmen. And as Jane would put it she has “Well over 500 dear little frosty
friends in our Henley Landing.”

So when her grandchild was on the way, she of course decided a snowman blanket would be necessary for the many winter cuddles they would enjoy together. To make the blanket even more special, Jane decided to have the 'Stitching Sisters' and the 'Four from Forest' each stitch a square. We all had a time frame in which to complete our square and pass the blanket on to the next person. Nothing like a good timeline to force you to sit down and stitch !!

Jane had no idea what pattern anyone chose to stitch, so when the blanket finally made it's way back to her - she would be completely surprised. Any empty squares were completed by Jane herself. When she told us of her plan to include everyone in the making of this blanket, we were thrilled and honoured that we would be part of such a special keepsake. Let's take a look....

Jane - showing off the blanket at Brentwood.

Wow !

Jane surprised us with the names of all the people who stitched a square.

In memory of our dear Stitching Sister Patti who loved to knit!

A is for Alexis(it's also for Angel)

Unto us a child is born, and that definitely meansThere's Snow Place Like Home

As much as we love you Jane - I really hopethere isn't as much snow as last year !!!

Hey wait a minute...

this blanket was done for LAST WINTER.

So all that snow was your fault !!!

Awwww... that's OK "Jayne with a Y" - we love you anyway, but don't let that happen again!

Many many many precious hours of blanket cuddling.

And to end things off, how appropriate to have a picture of Alexis on her first birthday with one of her frosty friends.

Contributors

About Us

Hello and welcome! We're Jody, Tracey, Bonnie and Anita, and we're so glad you stopped by our blog for a visit!

Our love of stitching is what brought our group together 20 years ago, but what we truly cherish is the amazing friendship that the 4 of us share; a bond which continues to grow stronger as the years go by.

As you read our blog, you will see it has a little bit of everything - hence the name, More Than Just Cross Stitchin'. We hope you'll come back again soon!

Charlie Brown

Growing up, I had a pet monkey named Charlie Brown. Actually, he belonged to my sister and he came to live with us in 1966. You were actually allowed to have monkeys as pets then and if you can beleive it, he was ordered from an ad in the back of a magazine. Charlie Brown was a squirrel monkey (just like the ones in the Telus commericials).

Everyone in school loved when it was my turn for 'show and tell'. You will see in some of the photos (if the slide show downloads for me...) that he used to wear diapers. Eventually, he learned how to take them off. We had a rope strung across the kitchen from end to the other. We kept a piece of papertowel on the floor at the end of one rope and that's where he did his business. His rope provided many hours of entertainment. At bedtime, if mom and dad were not home when it was bedtime, he would sit on his roap and cry out until they returned.

If I was crying, Dad would put him up to my face to lick away my tears. He would dangle from my hair and lick from one eye to the next. It alwyays made me stop crying. He would play outside and every once in awhile he would swing from tree to tree and end up down the street at the neighbours.

Often you would find the monkey lying in the cast iron pan on the stove. The pilot light from the gas stove provided him a warm and comfy spot. He would also sit on top of the lamp shade for warmth, and if you ever heard a 'pop' - you knew he peed on the lightbulb. It happens...

Charlie Brown used to sit on the wall phone.... until it rang. That was always funny. He brought many years of amusement to us all and I miss him and his antics.

Bonnie

Welcome to Jody's

It's a Dishcloth!

No... It's 2 Perfect Ones!

Anita's Chicken

Anita created this from looking at a picture from a magazine. No pattern. THAT girl !!!

Tracey working away with her crochet hooks she bought when she was in Grade 7 along with a beginner book. Her determination to learn by herself at such a young age is admiring.

Here is one of Tracey's projects on the go.

Anita's handy work

Warm toes

Warm hearts ... and warm toes!

Well since we are talking winter, let's talk about warm hearts ... and warm toes.

A few years ago at Christmas we had a gift exchange. Ironically, both Anita and myself had the exact same idea for a present. We always open our gift bags at the same time, and it was really hard for me to keep a straight face when I saw that Anita had had the same gift idea as me and while she explained that she thought slippers would be a good idea, that way we could carry them in our bag with us at all times. Anita had knit slipppers for everyone and made a little draw-string pouch, with our names embroidered on it, to keep the socks in.

Then they all opened my gift bag and we burst out laughing. I knew how much everyone loved snowmen, so I had stitched faces on white slippers and added a carrot button for the nose. Well we weren't finished with the laughter because I thought we should get a picture with our slippers on. So then we were all sitting on the floor trying to get different positions in order to get everyone in the picture at the same time. We tried sitting up against the wall and taking the picture of our toes all pointing up to the ceiling and then I said, nooooo - that will show the snowman's face upside down. Someone said... (and I won't say who...) "Good point, let's think of something else. What if we lay on our back with our feet in the air - you know... like if our feet were ON the ceiling"

Well then the faces would still be upside down wouldn't they. Spontanious Laughter.

We had to think of something else. It was decided that we would just stand toe to toe in a huddle and we would take the picture from above in order to get everyone in the picture. Sounded like a good plan right?

Well... not if you have a protruding belly and/or big boobs. After the inital light-headedness subsided from sucking in our bellies, we had to deal with the shadow from the boobs.

So we stood in our huddle, adjusting, wiggling and laughing with our arms around each other while we tried not to tip over. It was about that moment when Anita's daughter walked in on us, which of course added to the laughter when we saw the look on her face.

Finally the photo was taken and our toes are doubly warm.

Bonnie

Where Does the Time Go?

Heatwave July 21, 2011

Anita's Lucky Charm

Winter Storm December 12, 2010

The storm didn't stop this Bloomin' Rose

Happy Birthday Dad

Dad was born on Armistice Day - November 11, 1918. Shown here with his favourite show off 'Charlie Brown' the monkey.

The Feathered Nest

Quite some time ago when I was perusing the Dollarama, I came across the cutest autumn tea towel with a teddy bear dressed up like a scarecrow. It immediately reminded me of Jody and I thought 'I'm going to get that for her', and then I thought... why not get one for everybody? And so I did and it was a hit.

From that point on, it's no surprise to any of us if there just happens to be an occasional 'mini gift' exchange on Cross Stitch night. Once when Jody hosted in February, she gave us all a tiny picture frame with a 1" x 1" opening. I had no idea what to do with mine, but Tracey knew immediately. Because it was Valentines day, Tracey stitched a heart.

Mine sat for a good number of months before I could figure out what I could stitch in such a tiny area and not copy Tracey's idea. And then one day it hit me; Jody loves snowmen. I would do a snowman in the frame that Jody gave me. But.... do they make snowman patterns for less than 1" x 1"? I couldn't be bothered looking, so I winged it. And voila! A happy smiley snowman face. I think it took longer to write this posting than it did to stitch that happy face.

We'll have to get a picture of Tracey's heart posted after her renovations are complete as I expect it's packed away for now.